Detroit’s Mike Chek, a subterranean staple who quietly pens chart-topping R&B hits on the side, leans completely into the emotional fallout of ambition on his new single "Alright", featuring guest artist TMI 215. https://open.spotify.com/track/3l7HsXZuLdXn3LFmVnSqHl?si=9835f9f41db44d8b It operates in the heavy air of an aimless 3 AM drive. You immediately catch a melancholic, plucked string loop that circles your head, setting an undeniably tired but resolute mood. Soon,...

Leon Blanchard, a name perhaps faintly echoing from the mid-noughties indie surge, returns not with fanfare, but with a solitary signal flare titled "Astronaut". Hailing from Grimsby, a town known more for its fishing heritage than its celestial aspirations, Blanchard's new song does not really feel like a return, but more like a personal gearbox picked up after years of chatter. In 2007, his old band,...